There are times when a pastor must be gentle, patient, and willing to give someone time to grow. But there are also times when sin must be confronted. First Corinthians 5 gives us one of the clearest examples in Scripture.
Paul had established the church at Corinth during his missionary work. Corinth was a large and prosperous city in the Roman world, surrounded by pagan worship and sexual immorality. Many of the believers in that church had come out of that kind of life. They were saved, but they were still learning what it meant to live as followers of Christ.
By the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, serious problems had developed within the church. There were divisions, pride, lawsuits among believers, misuse of spiritual gifts, and sexual sin.
But one situation was so serious that Paul addressed it immediately.
He wrote:
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has his father’s wife.” 1 Corinthians 5:1
A man associated with the church was involved sexually with his father’s wife. Most likely this was his stepmother. The shocking part was not only the sin itself. The church knew about it and had allowed it to continue.
Paul told them:
“You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.” 1 Corinthians 5:2
The church should have been grieved. Instead, they had tolerated what God clearly called sin.
Paul did not tell them to overlook it. He did not tell them to wait until the situation became more comfortable. He told them to deal with it.
Then Paul wrote one of the strongest statements in the chapter:
“I have decided to turn such a person over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 5:5
That verse can sound frightening if we read it without understanding what Paul was doing.
Paul was not telling the church to curse the man or somehow give Satan ownership of his soul. He was telling the church to remove him from their fellowship.
The man was living in open sin while still being accepted among the believers as though nothing were wrong. Paul said that could not continue.
Removing him from fellowship would place him back into the world where he would experience the consequences of the life he had chosen. The purpose was not revenge. The purpose was repentance.
The phrase “for the destruction of his body” is difficult. It may refer to severe physical consequences connected with his sinful life, or even physical judgment allowed by God. Paul does not tell us exactly what form that destruction would take.
But Paul does tell us the purpose: “so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.”
Does that mean this man was definitely already saved?
Scripture does not tell us.
Paul was dealing with a man who was part of the church and was being treated as one of them, but the passage never plainly says whether he was truly born again. Some believe he was a genuine believer who had fallen deeply into sin. Others believe he was only a professing believer whose response to discipline would reveal the true condition of his heart.
We should be careful not to settle a question that Scripture itself does not settle.
To say with certainty that this man was saved would go beyond the text. To say with certainty that he was not saved would do the same thing. Our responsibility is to stay with what God has revealed and not add conclusions that He has not given us.
What we do know is that Paul wanted the discipline to lead this man toward repentance and ultimately toward salvation on the day of the Lord.
Either way, Paul was not willing to tell the man that everything was fine while he continued openly in sin.
That is the lesson pastors cannot afford to miss.
Serious, known, unrepentant sin cannot simply be allowed to continue in a church because confronting it may be uncomfortable.
Paul continued:
“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” 1 Corinthians 5:6
Sin that is knowingly tolerated does not remain isolated. Other believers see it. Young Christians see it. Families see it. Eventually the church begins sending the message that what God calls sin is really not that serious.
That does not mean pastors should investigate every private failure in a congregation. Christians still struggle with sin, and Scripture gives us ways to deal patiently and personally with those struggles.
But this situation was different. The sin was open. It was serious. It was known. And there was no repentance.
Pastor, when something like that happens in your congregation, do not pretend you do not see it.
Deal with it biblically.
Do it in love. Do it carefully. Do it fairly. Do it without anger or humiliation. Give the person an opportunity to repent. But if he refuses to repent and insists on continuing openly in sin, Scripture does not tell the church to ignore it.
Church discipline is not about getting rid of people we do not like.
It is about loving someone enough to tell him the truth, protecting the church from accepting sin, and seeking restoration through repentance.
Sometimes love puts an arm around someone.
Sometimes love has to say, “This cannot continue.”